"I suppose this is how I will die for the second time. Who would have thought that, just by being reincarnated, I could become a God?" Zhen Len murmured as he felt his life slipping away, while blood poured from his body and his four-word battle armor crumbled into fragments of light.
"Maybe I should have looked for a partner... or a harem, instead of focusing solely on progressing to become a God, knowing how difficult it is to achieve that in Douluo Dalu 2 and 3."
Despite his great talent and unwavering determination, he couldn't even reach the level of a Limit Title Douluo.
He had been born twelve years before Tang Wulin, but he didn't remember much about the plot of Douluo Dalu 3, let alone the dates or locations of certain key events. Because of that, he had to rely on himself. He awakened a Two-Tailed Fire Spirit Fox martial soul with innate full soul power, and thanks to that and his good fortune, he managed to join Shrek Academy and become Zhen Hua's disciple. Over time, he forged his own four-word battle armor at the age of thirty-two.
But everything began to fall apart with the arrival of the abyss and the evil soul masters, which ultimately led to his tragic death.
Exhausted and without the strength to stay awake, his eyes fully closed.
The last thought that crossed his mind was a simple, painful wish
"I wish I had another chance..."
When he suddenly reopened them, what awaited him was a lush forest full of greenery. Branches stretched toward the sky as if trying to tear the firmament apart, and a damp breeze stirred the ferns around him.
Zhen Len tried to move, but his body was small, furry, clumsy... and unfamiliar.
"... Again?" he murmured with irony, though all that came out of his mouth was a high-pitched squeal.
It didn't take him long to understand what had happened. He had reincarnated once again, but this time he was no longer human.
He clumsily crawled to a nearby pool of crystal-clear water, where he managed to see his reflection. His head was that of a fox, his fur was snow-white in some areas and reddish in others and his eyes were a deep ruby color.
He was a Spirit Fire Fox cub. He knew this soul beast well, as it had been his martial soul in his previous life... and it was also an extinct beast.
He didn't feel much surprise, just a flicker of confusion and anxiety. He knew that being a soul beast meant being trapped in the cycle of hunting... or maybe, if he was lucky, the great beast migration had already happened.
"I'm screwed... I have no future."
He clearly remembered the rules of this world. Soul beasts under a thousand years old were considered mere prey. Instinct-driven creatures, perfect for becoming beginner soul rings. They couldn't transform into humans or negotiate their fate. The only positive thing was that he still retained his consciousness.
He would have to cultivate for tens of thousands of years just to reach the threshold where he could acquire a human form. And that was if he was lucky. Any higher-cultivation soul beast could kill him, or a soul master could hunt him down before he even reached a thousand years... although if the beast migration had already occurred, maybe he'd have fewer worries in that regard.
For now, he was alone. No references. No certainties.
However, amid his pessimism, a spark of thought emerged.
He had time. Plenty of time.
Unlike his past life, now he didn't have the pressure of immediate conspiracies or the urgency to overexert himself to reach an impossible level. Plus, he still remembered many of the Tang Sect's inner techniques, the ones Tang San had stolen and which worked even across different planes. That meant they might be adaptable to his soul beast body.
And not only that, he also possessed techniques from the Body Sect, thanks to his training under Zhen Hua. Although they had never been tested on soul beasts, if he managed to adapt them, he would have an incomparably strong body, even against higher-cultivation beasts.
"If they worked in completely different planes... why wouldn't they work in this body?"
He instinctively smiled, like a small cub full of confidence. However, his momentary joy was interrupted when something abruptly grabbed him by the neck.
Panic flooded him. He had forgotten how vulnerable he was in this new environment. But fortunately, the one who had grabbed him was his mother. A majestic adult fox, much larger than him. She looked a little annoyed, one of her cubs had wandered off.
Without much ceremony, she tossed him back alongside his other siblings, two males and two females, all equally small and adorable.
Zhen Len, still confused, felt immense happiness. Now he had a family. He had a protector who would watch over him during his childhood, allowing him to focus on growing stronger.
That was his first step.
During the first few days, he fed on his mother's milk, hunted small insects, drank fresh water, and snuggled next to his parents and siblings. The main rule was simple. Do not stray too far from the mother.
Clumsy but obedient, Zhen Len followed these orders while secretly beginning to practice the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Because soul beasts had meridians different from humans, he had to spend an entire week familiarizing himself with them and an additional week managing to circulate his energy similarly to how he did when he was human.
A process that should have taken him months or even years, but thanks to the instinctive nature of his soul beast body, which cultivated passively he managed to speed up his progress greatly.
When cultivating actively, his speed multiplied by ten, while sleeping or resting, his growth was three times faster than normal.
In other words, if he lived like an ordinary soul beast, he could achieve three years of cultivation for every real year. And if he devoted himself fully to active cultivation, he could reach up to ten years of cultivation per real year.
"Training is exhausting..."
He sighed while practicing, drawing the attention of his siblings. His mother, seeing him cry inconsolably, gently picked him up and brought him to her teats to feed and comfort him.
'Well... I guess it's a small sacrifice if I want to become a God. Besides, once I'm stronger, I can use herbs or other resources to speed up the process.'
After satisfying his hunger, he fell into a deep sleep.
As dawn approached, he woke up and clumsily climbed onto a rock. There, he gazed at the orange-stained horizon while his eyes emitted a faint purple glow. A phenomenon that only occurred when practicing or using the Purple Demon Eye.